Blog Posts by John Kordosh

We admit that we feature a lot of flavor-of-the-month stars here in Framed — really, it's just easier on all of us — but, this week, we're very pleased to welcome back the very talented, super spectacular Eminem to our blog.

Eminem — his real name is something like Marco Mathers — is a legit,  #1 star. He's sold more records than everybody else combined. Ever, in history. He's also better-looking and more talented than everyone else, too.

And, on top of that, his songs are pretty good! Heck, he's the "whole package!"

This week we're featuring "Not Afraid," a mid-tempo rap from 2010 that debuted at #1 and won an MTV Video Music Award. It's an uplifting song; in the vid, Eminem stares down his demons, discovers he can actually fly, and invites we, the listeners, to follow his lead.

Which we're totally going to do! Right after we read this week's captions! Please let us know what you think of us and Eminem, OK?

So there we were at the bar, when Ginny the waitress said "Hey, why don't you do a blog about how hard it is to be a big rock star?"

"Michelob Ultra and a Sambuca, Ginny," we said. "So you think it's hard to be rich and famous?"

"Sure, it's hard. They must always worry about maintaining their status."

"You realize that this is gonna make a riveting intro to next week's Framed, right?," we asked. "Did you have somebody in mind?"

"Actually, yeah; I did. Miley Cyrus has taken quite a beating in the press."

"O'Connor?" we asked, raising an eyebrow. That guy's gotta be reigned in.

"No, just in general. She's always showing up in the press for stuff. Dancing in hot pants. Posing for risqué photo shoots. Kissing girls. You know."

"Well, being a big star has soul-draining demands that we can only guess at."

"You used to have her videos in Framed all the time."

"Yeah. We used to not drink, too."

Ginny looked disappointed.

"Tell you what, Ginny," we said. "For you, anything. We'll put Miley in next week's blog. What do you recommend?"

"Oh, 'Fly On The Wall.' It's all about how the paparazzi try to ruin the lives of our greatest stars, like Miley.

What if the worst thing ever was to actually happen, readers?

What then?

Now, there are a lot of really terrible things that could happen.  A runaway comet could hit the Earth and destroy us all!  A super flu virus could evolve and wipe out humanity in less than a month!  Ostensibly humorous blogs could be written!

Well, something really, really bad has already happened.  The unholy alliance between the U.S. armed forces and popular music — yes, the military/musical complex that Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about — is now a reality!  Songstress Katy Perry, a frequently featured artist here in Framed,  has openly locked arms with the United States Marine Corps in the video for her song, "Part Of Me."

Like us, you'll be alarmed at the strident militarism of the video.  (It appears that Katy actually shot it at a Marine base in California.)  And, as you'll see, it glamorizes the authoritarianism and abject gun worship we've always feared would creep into our most beloved musical

When we last looked in at Framed, the guys in the British boy band One Direction were actively discussing the concept of "direction" and debating east versus west. It was riveting, enjoyable stuff, no doubt about it.

We liked it so much, in fact, that this week's Framed also features One Direction!

Seriously, is it any wonder people say that we're the best blog of all time?

We think not!

Whitney Houston's death has been one of the year's biggest, and saddest, music stories. The talented singer's many struggles with drugs over the years have been well-publicized, so we won't repeat them here.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Houston was the most-awarded female act in history, having sold over 170 million records in her lifetime. She had eight Top 10 albums and 11 #1 hit singles, and was a powerful influence on many modern singers. Said Jon Caramanica in the New York Times: "She was, alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna, one of the crucial figures to hybridize pop in the 1980s."

We've been wanting to do a Whitney Framed for some weeks, but it just didn't feel right. That's because Framed is generally funny — or, it was until we wrote this introduction. But in looking through her videos, we realized that "One Moment In Time," which was recorded for the 1988 Summer Olympics, didn't feature Whitney in the video at all. Instead, it features images from the '84 and '88 Olympics to a Whitney soundtrack.

For a band that was 100% completely fabricated — something like this very blog, come to think of it — the Monkees have certainly enjoyed a lot of fame, record sales and even respect over the years.

Assembled for TV in 1966, their show lasted on NBC for only two seasons, but the band's legacy has lasted up to the present day. Their glory days — they once had four #1 LPs within a one-year span — faded quickly, yet they have become an indisputable part of musical and pop culture history.

One of the biggest stories in music this year was the release of Bruce Springsteen's latest album, Wrecking Ball. The record debuted at #1 in 15 countries. BBC Music spoke of "masterful execution," and The New York Times said it included "some of Springsteen's most elaborate studio concoctions since Born to Run."

Heck, even Y! Music's own New This Week praised it — somewhat wildly, a habit over there — as "an interesting listen."

With all those kudos flying about, we've been wanting to listen to it, too, but we must've had other stuff to do! This week, though, we're finally getting around to it by featuring "We Take Care Of Our Own," the album's first single.

You know what we don't have enough of, here in Framed?

Outside of readers whose posts are so witty that every one of our blogs goes viral by default?

Rappers. Rappers are what we need. Everybody likes rappers.

This week, we begin to make up for past mistakes by featuring Flo Rida, the great songwriter/singer/rapper from we're too lazy to look it up, in Florida. He's had five Top 10 hits in his career, and worked with everyone from Akon to T-Pain to Ke$ha.

Our video is a good 'un — it's "Good Feeling," which was a 3x platinum hit for 'Rida last year. In the vid, we see Flo Rida travel all around Europe, just like we all do every summer. Look for Snoop Dogg in one scene.